Feb Update...Pens, Painting Room, Rules, and Such...

 As January is now in the past, and Feb is upon us, I am seeing the "nearing the end" for the current game room setup.

The game shelves are pretty much done. So the checklist for the game room to be finished has had one major block checked. The others are as follows:

• Tables and chairs for the game room: (2 8' x 3' ft folding tables, and one 4 foot table for an end table should be good enough for now. Chairs should be folding with padded seats and made for "heavier" weights.)
• Additional overhead lighting. The current lighting doesn't do the game area justice, so I am thinking of installing 1-2 hanging shop lights. I just don't want the fluorescent glare, so it might be LED.
• Small curtains. Yes this sounds weird but I like the idea of having the windows with black curtains on them as it lends a better overall look to the place. Plus it helps with light discipline.
• Display cases. Since the IKEA nightmare, we are in the market for display cases. Right now things aren't looking good on the used market, but we will keep looking.
• Sofa: Future plans include a black leather sofa for the "lounge area" of the game room.
• TV/DVD player: The wife has decreed that I shall have a TV and DVD player down there. That will help fill the inset.
• A larger trash can. The current one isn't cutting it.

As the game room is slow progress this will cost some money, so it's a one step at a time purchase.

The biggest issue being the display case(s). These things cost more than TV's or leather sofas!

Pens!

So,  I'm taking the deep step and getting into using Pigma style Micron Pens for detailing work on figures. The biggest issue with these is finding the right pens that do not "run" when the final sealer coat is put on, and after a lot of research I went ahead and ordered some.

A 3-pack of various tip sizes for a decent price.

The price from Walmart.com wasn't bad and if they work half as well as I have read, then the results should well justify the small price. Hopefully I will be able to see how they work out in the near future, and getting some pics posted here to show.

Rules:

While digging through my "boxes o' stuff" I was lucky to come across two sets of rules that I "knew I had somewhere"...

The first is my AWI Rules, "Patriots and Loyalists".

"Yankee Doodle went to town......"

It's an older set of rules and one that I do look forward to trying out.

Speaking of old rules. So the AWI isn't your thing? Would you rather be spending your day crossing the hot burning sands? Then say no more!

Zut Alors! Honh Honh Honh! (or something like that...)

This set of older rules lets you command legionnaires and do all the sorts of things that FFL men do...march in the desert, fight the Arabs, deal with sadistic commanders, and die of heat stroke....

Naturally I am short of Legionnaires so I guess I will be ordering some soon.

Also in a quick sale, I was able to also purchase this....

Gonna throw down like it's 1985...

I'll admit I have always been a sucker for good NATO vs WP type stuff, but I also like the realism of the looks on the table. Hence why BF's TY "tank park" stuff doesn't do it for me. I've wanted to get a copy of these rules for a while, but they've eluded me until a friend of mine gave me the opportunity to get them.

So looks like I'll be rebuilding my micro armor force...Hooah!

Back to the Painting Room:

So in the previous post I had shown off some of the painting area.

As promised here are some more pics showing the painting room in it's current stage, (I say "current" because it is going to be a constantly changing thing I think)....

One of the issues I have is with mats, ground cloths, etc., and the storage issue. Thankfully I was able to "improvise, adapt, and overcome" as the overhead piping (remember this is a basement), allowed me to rack the tube items, keeping them handy but also out of the way and nicely stored.

My "tube rack".  Now I just have to label the tubes so I remember what is in them!

Also, as promised in the painting room, here are a few more pics of the layout.

As right behind the door is my small bookcase. This holds a wide variety of items, including my Ospreys and old Squadron Signal books, some military FM's and TM's, some binders of notes, etc., two massive stacks of WI, (yes I have a subscription), my "Cylon head" art project from high school that my mom kept, some other knickknacks, my "Batman" Halloween Trick or Treat bucket, and finally on the top shelf, is "The Bongolesian Victory Arch", a Dreamsphere, and my UFO cookie jar, (which last saw major use in 2001 at my Elvis Themed Christmas Party)....

It's amazing the strange stuff that we as humans seem to collect....

And on the side is the chest of drawers, (for holding miniatures), and the dresser, (for holding miniatures, sculpting and molding supplies, model kits, etc.). You can see the tubes previously mentioned in the rack above. On the dresser are some of the projects I have in the queue to be painted up and finished. The storage containers to the right hold plastic, wood, resin kits, etc.

This painting area is looking disturbingly neat for a tabletop wargamer...

On top of the chest of drawers, I have my Robert E. Lee on Traveler statue, (a wonderful housewarming gift), "Penny Pig", (she catches and gobbles up all the spare coins), "Poe" my skeletal raven, my Alfred Hitchcock bobble head, (I need to get a Colonel Klink one also), and a vinyl Disney "Beast" figurine, (eventually to be painted up as a large statue).... The picture was a birthday gift from a special person many years ago. It is called "An Enchanted Evening". The glass was cracked and I need to replace it. Just one of the many things on my "to do" list.

An interesting menagerie indeed.

While setting up things, I noticed that next to our family pictures, the two most common individuals portrayed in our house are 1: Jesus Christ, and 2: Robert E. Lee....

Elvis comes in third...

Now that the room is pretty much organized and done, (still waiting on the Chair and the floor mats to be "completely complete", I can start paying attention to what I have put down in the queue.

In this pic there are various pieces of scenery (buildings mostly), as well as vehicles, and troops. Most of them are 15mm, however there is a 28mm Tri City Laser Western building that needs some work to be finished up in the upper right corner. I still need to get my 28mm project stuff out.

A frontal full-on of some of the "Stuff" that needs to be done...

And a side shot...

And on the day I started this entry, Wally World delivery came through and delivered my new self-healing painting and cutting mat!

This one is reversible and larger than my last one, and will allow me a larger work area.

If you don't have one of these, you really, REALLY need one. They are that good for the work table. I ordered this one from Wally World and the price wasn't bad at all for it's purposes.

And since the game-room fridge is starting to get low, it's time to restock!

Time to refill with tasty drinks!

Okay, that is it for now.

The next post will be a review of my recently arrived VM-370 Vortex Paint Mixer and more!

See you then!